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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. His happy association was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The match might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed great fight all game, but the clearer opportunities always came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much still work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.